A Qualitative Exploration of the Teaching- and Learning-Related Content Nursing Students Share to Social Media

Background: Social media have many applications in health professions education. The current literature focuses on how faculty members use social media to supplement their teaching; less is known about how the students themselves use social media to support their educational activities. In this study, this digital artifact collection qualitatively explored what educational content nursing students shared with their social media accounts. Methods: A total of 24 nursing students’ Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts were followed over 5 months. A modified directed content analysis was conducted weekly and at the end of the data collection period, using two cycles of inductive and deductive coding. Results: This study demonstrated that nursing students used social media to combat isolation, to consolidate course content, to share resources, and to better anticipate the transition to practice as a new nurse. Conclusions: Faculty members can capitalize on social media platforms to help nursing students explore nursing roles and identities while learning about and enacting professional online behaviours.

The role of paediatricians in specialist nurse training: a community child health example

Specialist and advanced nursing roles have started to emerge in paediatrics and paediatricians may be asked to support nurses through their training. While there are specific training programmes for some areas of practice eg, neonatology, there are currently no programmes for others. Paediatricians may therefore find themselves being asked to train nurse specialists outside a formal training programme, or to provide the clinical specialty component linked to a generic MSc course, where the paediatrician may be required to devise a training curriculum specific to their area of practice. Using, neonatology, there are currently no programmes for others. Paediatricians may therefore find themselves being asked to train nurse specialists outside a formal training programme, or to provide the clinical specialty component linked to a generic MSc course, where the paediatrician may be required to devise a training curriculum specific to their area of practice. Using community child health as an example, this paper outlines how paediatricians might approach this, based on the experience of the author. However, the principles outlined can apply to any area of paediatrics.

Nurses in the lead: a qualitative study on the development of distinct nursing roles in daily nursing practice

Background Transitions in healthcare delivery, such as the rapidly growing numbers of older people and increasing social and healthcare needs, combined with nursing shortages has sparked renewed interest in differentiations in nursing staff and skill mix. Policy attempts to implement new competency frameworks and job profiles often fails for not serving existing nursing practices. This study is aimed to understand how licensed vocational nurses (VNs) and nurses with a Bachelor of Science degree (BNs) shape distinct nursing roles in daily practice. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in four wards (neurology, oncology, pneumatology and surgery) of a Dutch teaching hospital. Various ethnographic methods were used: shadowing nurses in daily practice (65h), observations and participation in relevant meetings (n=56), informal conversations (up to 15 h), 22 semi-structured interviews and member-checking with four focus groups (19 nurses in total). Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Hospital nurses developed new role distinctions in a series of small-change experiments, based on action and appraisal. Our findings show that: (1) this developmental approach incorporated the nurses’ invisible work; (2) nurses’ roles evolved through the accumulation of small changes that included embedding the new routines in organizational structures; (3) the experimental approach supported the professionalization of nurses, enabling them to translate national legislation into hospital policies and supporting the nurses’ (bottom-up) evolution of practices. The new roles required the special knowledge and skills of Bachelor-trained nurses to support healthcare quality improvement and connect the patients’ needs to organizational capacity. Conclusions Conducting small-change experiments, anchored by action and appraisal rather than by design, clarified the distinctions between vocational and Bachelor-trained nurses. The process stimulated personal leadership and boosted the responsibility nurses feel for their own development and the nursing profession in general. This study indicates that experimental nursing role development provides opportunities for nursing professionalization and gives nurses, managers and policymakers the opportunity of a ‘two-way-window’ in nursing role development, aligning policy initiatives with daily nursing practices.

‘Overnight, things changed. Suddenly, we were in it’: a qualitative study exploring how surgical teams mitigated risks of COVID-19

ObjectivesCOVID-19 presents a risk of infection and transmission for operating theatre teams. Guidelines to protect patients and staff emerged and changed rapidly based on expert opinion and limited evidence. This paper presents the experiences and innovations developed by international surgical teams during the early stages of the pandemic to attempt to mitigate risk.DesignIn-depth, semistructured interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically using methods of constant comparison.Participants43 participants, including surgeons from a range of specialties (primarily general surgery, otolaryngology, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic and ophthalmology), anaesthetists and those in nursing roles.SettingThe UK, Italy, Spain, the USA, China and New Zealand between March and May 2020.ResultsSurgical teams sought to mitigate COVID-19 risks by modifying their current practice with an abundance of strategies and innovations. Communication and teamwork played an integral role in how teams adapted, although participants reflected on the challenges of having to improvise in real time. Uncertainties remained about optimal surgical practice and there were significant tensions where teams were forced to balance what was best for patients while contemplating their own safety.ConclusionsThe perceptions of risks during a pandemic such as COVID-19 can be complex and context dependent. Management of these risks in surgery must be driven by evidence‐based practice resulting from a pragmatic and novel approach to collation of global evidence. The context of surgery has changed dramatically, and surgical teams have developed a plethora of innovations. There is an urgent need for high-quality evidence to inform surgical practice that optimises the safety of both patients and healthcare professionals as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds.

Les pratiques avancées en pédiatrie dans le monde

This paper presents a review of the literature regarding the development of the paediatric NP and CNS roles; the education requirements in four countries where these roles are established; effectiveness of the paediatric NP and CNS roles within some settings in which they practice; and makes recommendations for the development of paediatric advanced practice nursing roles in countries that are considering implementing advanced practice nursing roles.

Les pratiques avancées en pédiatrie dans le monde

This paper presents a review of the literature regarding the development of the paediatric NP and CNS roles; the education requirements in four countries where these roles are established; effectiveness of the paediatric NP and CNS roles within some settings in which they practice; and makes recommendations for the development of paediatric advanced practice nursing roles in countries that are considering implementing advanced practice nursing roles.

Use of Simulation in Teaching Nursing Leadership and Management Course

Nursing education is strategically positioned to prepare nursing students in attaining management and leadership skills necessary for future professional nursing roles. This review appraised and synthesized outcomes of using simulation in pre-licensure nursing management and leadership courses within the last 10 years. This is an integrative review of original articles published within the last 10 years. Four (PsychINFO, CINAHL, PubMed, and SCOPUS) bibliographic databases were searched to identify relevant articles using the following terms: management, leadership, simulation, nurse education, and student. Ten (10) articles were included in the review. Four essential themes were identified from the content analysis: acquisition of or understanding of delegation, enhanced teamwork or collaboration capacities, improved decision-making and problem solving skills, and increased communication skills. Incorporation of simulation in nursing management and leadership courses has the potential to enhance nursing students’ delegation skills, problem solving capacities, skills in making decisions, and communication and teamwork skills. Keywords: simulation; nursing; leadership; management; student; education.